Deadly Silence (complete) Chapter 116

The rest of the week was quiet. On Thursday night, Vivian spent a fair bit of time worrying about the phone Abby had taken but, Paul hadn’t attempted to reach out in any way, so what could she even do? It was also weird that Abby had yet to come back to school but, if her mother was in the hospital after a home invasion, she couldn’t be faulted for missing a few days.

Friday, Samuel brought her to practice and stayed to have a chat with Mrs Lewis about how the punishment for Adriana and Emma had been pushed back long enough; video conference calling was a thing, after all. There was no need to put things on hold because their parents were out of the country.

He and Vivian had already spent some time the previous evening, discussing what sort of punishment would be appropriate for the girls and, after much back and forth, she’d come to a decision that felt right.

Both girls wouldn’t be allowed to participate in any up coming competitions, with their respective team. They’d have to attend all practices and all competitions — as a spectator only, with the latter — for the remainder of the semester. It didn’t seem like much of a punishment, until you took into account the scouts that would be at all the competitions throughout the year — though mainly the first semester — in hopes of recruiting up and coming talent for their respective Universities.

Was it too much, to take that away from them? Maybe Emma, since she had nothing to do with any of this, as far as Vivian was concerned, but for Adriana it felt like a good fit. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Maybe she’d think twice about bullying someone else.

Mrs Lewis had agreed to Samuel’s terms for the punishment, and said she’d send along the information to the parents and respective coaches. He didn’t say what the principal’s thoughts on the matter were when he informed Vivian after practice, but she had a feeling he’d probably forced the issue; there was no way the woman had been keen to bench a track star for an entire semester.

Because of this development, when Vivian arrived at the meet on Saturday, all she got from a lot of the girls on the team were angry glares. Seemed the news had reached the team and they weren’t happy. The boys didn’t seem as bothered, though they still gave Vivian curious glances from time to time, because of how the other girls were treating her, as everyone warmed up for the day.

This behaviour from the others wasn’t anything particularly new for Vivian, who was used to acting like most people didn’t exist. Being left alone by half the team wasn’t that big of a deal; it wasn’t like she had to count on any of them during the events she’d be participating in.

As she finished stretching, Reagan strolled over and gave her a smile. “How are you making out?”

“Fine,” she replied without thinking. The redhead laughed a bit, which reminded her how often she used that as her go-to answer. “A bit nervous, I guess.”

“You’ve been working hard, so I wouldn’t sweat it,” he assured her with a pat on the shoulder. “Just do your best.”

Vivian hummed a bit in response, and watched him walk away to rejoin the others. A few of the girls sent her scathing looks, but she just shook her head. If their opinion mattered to her in the least she wouldn’t have gotten Adriana benched.

Speaking of which, the girl in question sat on the sideline with Coach Mac. She looked positively enraged, but couldn’t do anything about it other than sit there and simmer. A few of the girls checked in every so often, but the coach shooed them off soon after.

Changing her focus, Vivian scanned the crowd and found Samuel, Sebastian, and Gabriel sitting together in the bleachers.

Gabriel was looking a bit better than he had when she’d seen him Wednesday. From what she’d been told, someone had tried to rob the warehouse where he restored old cars, and he’d gotten into a fight with the thieves. He’d won in the end, but Vivian couldn’t believe he’d be stupid enough to take on two guys with guns; wasn’t his life worth more than a few old cars?

Sebastian caught her gaze and waved, which she returned with a small one of her own, before turning away and looking towards the host of the event, who’d begun to speak. The line up for the events of the day followed the usual introductory speech, and things began to happen.

Vivian was glad all the ones she was participating in would be over before lunch. She still had to stick around until everything was over but, once she finished her sprints, she could relax and enjoy the day without worry.

Participants for the first event of the day — the 100 metre sprint — were told to step up to the track. This included Vivian.

Nervous, she joined the others. There were too many participants to all run at the same time, so they’d been broken up into separate groups; Vivian was the only one from her school placed in the first group, which didn’t bother her so much as being part of the very first sprint of the day.

Vivian had never been the competitive sort; being the best at anything was something she’d never thought about. Maybe this was because Paul had spent eight of her most formative years breaking her down as a person, reminding her that, no matter how hard she tried, she’d never live up to his standards. And his standards, according to him, were nothing like the real world. She should be glad he was so lenient.

Standing by her starting blocks, Vivian couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy. The world was about to witness how she couldn’t measure up. Deep down, she knew this wasn’t true, that no one who mattered would think less of her, even if she ended up in last place. But, for some reason, the thought wouldn’t leave her alone.

At the signal, Vivian crouched down, bracing her feet against the starting blocks. As she waited for the race to begin, her heart began to beat faster and faster. She had to consciously keep her breathing in check, as her fingers pressed into the rubberized track. The air felt warm — too warm — and heavy. The pressure in her chest only grew as the seconds ticked by at a snail’s pace.

“On your mark…!”

Vivian exhaled slowly, letting all the air out of her lungs, before allowing herself to inhale.

“Get set…!”

Another long exhale. She felt hot all over, like it was the middle of summer and she was stuck under the scorching sun. Sweat beaded down her cheek, following the curve of her jaw, before dripping from her chin.

“Go!” The sound of the starting pistol rang out and the sprinters took off.

Vivian made it a handful of steps before slowing to a stop, confused.

The world was suddenly quiet — too quiet. Looking around, she noted the trees, the gentle spring breeze that brought with it the smell of a wooded world waking from its winters hibernation. Damp earth, pine, snow, mulch… It all hit her at once as she looked down to see a body on the ground.

It was a woman who looked remarkably like Vivian; long, beautiful black hair covered the muddy ground, contrasting sharply with the pale skin, but what caught and kept her attention were the eyes; they were a deep blue, beautiful in colour, but empty of life.

“Mom…” she heard herself say, unable to move from where she stood.